Topic Title: Makin the Switch, advice?
| |  "Makin the Switch, advice?"
, Thu 17 Jan 13:15
Hey all. Am thinking I am going to be making the switch from SJW to 5-HTP. I have had some real good progress with the SJW. But, it has made my face REAL red. And my face was already pretty red. It has drastically cut down on my facial blushing issue. But, the constant redness is horrible. Not really a rash per se, it's just my normal rosy glow x5. Any suggestions for the transfer? Do they two have pretty much the same effect of tempering down anxiety and boosting mood? I am really torn here. SJW has brought about a tremendous improvement in my mood and anxiousness. But it really does not matter when I have a stop light for a face. Any thoughts, ideas? Thanks allot to Kell for this site. I said it before and I will say it again I am sure. Cheers!
Posts: 16 | | Registered: Thu 10 Jan 2002 11:38 |
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| |  "Re(1):Makin the Switch, advice?"
, Fri 18 Jan 13:35
Both sjw and 5htp increase levels of serotonin in the brain.
If you take divided doses of sjw I would suggest that you 1st replace your last dose of the day with 100 mg of 5htp. 5htp will make you tired in the beginning. Then you can slowly wean yourself off of the sjw while adding more 5htp if needed. Maybe another 100mg in the morning. You'll have to figure out the right dosage for yourself. When I started I took 250mg 2x/day.
MJ DuPont
http://events.diabetes.org/memberpages/peshka
Posts: 196 | | Registered: Wed 20 Jun 2001 6:19 |
| | | "Re(2):Makin the Switch, advice?" , Fri 18 Jan 16:35
Thanks allot for the reply. I pretty much just replaced my SJW dose last night with 5-HTP. Then today, I replaced all doses with 5-HTP. Have not felt on top of the world today. But, I am still noticing signifigantly reduced symptoms of my anxiety. Also, the redness in my face/neck went away almost immediately after stopping the SJW. A shame really cause it did wonders for my mood. Hopefully, I will find that 5-HTP will do the same while not making me look like a stop light.
Do you know of any problems which might arise with the way I handled the switch? What is the longest you can take 5-HTP? I have seen reports on the net that you should only take it for two months. Also, there seems to be some controversy with this "something X" that some brands have in them. The exact term escapes me now. The only thing that concerns me is that there seems to be allot more caution posted out on the net about this stuff in comparrison to SJW. Could I have your thoughts on that. And the rest? I notice you seem to have the most experience with the 5-HTP so thought I would pick your brain. Thanks again for the reply. Oh, one other thing, I hear that you can build up a tolerance (for lack of a better word) to it. Some say you should stop for 2-3 days every month to avoid this. Have any experience with that? Or suggestions. Thanks again. Cheers.
Posts: 18 | | Registered: Thu 10 Jan 2002 11:38 |
| | |  "Re(3):Makin the Switch, advice?"
, Sat 19 Jan 05:13
I've been taking 5htp for over 2 years without any problems or complications. Never took a break, never built up a tolerance. I plan to take 5htp the rest of my life or until a cure for depression is found. For me 5htp is a treatment not a cure. I also went through therapy, take multi-vitamins, exercise & practice my religion.
I don't think you will have any problem with the switch.
I think that much of the controversy comes from the tryptophan scare back in the 80's, as well as the Phen-fen problems. “Peak x" is the contaminant that was found in tryptophan, the researchers THINK it caused EMS and those 38 deaths. As for Phen-fen, from what I understand, one of the drugs is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and the other a MAOI inhibitor. Which caused too much serotonin to stay in the body and it accumulated in the heart valve area, causing problems and death. And then there is serotonin syndrome...But I don't want to scare you. I think the safest thing to do is to just take 5htp by itself (no other serotonin involved drugs). Let your body use what it needs, break down the rest and get rid of it. From my research, problems occur most often when mixing 2 or more serotonin medications.
Here is great website for more information on 5htp:
http://www.smart-publications.com/books/5htp/toc.html
I use Nature's way brand of 5htp with b6 and c. I contacted the company and they assured me that they test for "peak x" and other contaminants, and their 5htp is contaminant free. iHerb sells Nature's way brand of 5htp for the cheapest price I have seen.
http://www.iherb.com/iherb/store.html
Best of luck and God bless.
MJ DuPont
http://events.diabetes.org/memberpages/peshka
Posts: 197 | | Registered: Wed 20 Jun 2001 6:19 |
| | | "Re(4):Makin the Switch, advice?" , Sat 19 Jan 07:56
Thanks Dupont. Really appreciate it. I have not had a real hard time making the switch so far. Still not having the level of mood stabilization that I was experiencing on the SJW. But, it is only the second day. I have slept much, much better. That much is for certain. And, some of my symptoms of SAD are still tempered considerably. I have seen that it is supposed to work very well with anxiety. Hope so. Thanks allot for your reply. Cheers.
Posts: 19 | | Registered: Thu 10 Jan 2002 11:38 |
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